All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, for 7 years as of 8/17/14. Sorry ladies... :)
Fitness and nutrition is of the upmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting.
I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout!
I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result.
I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition.
If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

A few years ago, I made goat cheese crackers for Going Mom for Mother’s Day? As a former Cheez-It addict, these goat cheese crackers are whey healthier and even more addicting. My wife confirmed the addictive properties by making them disappear within 2 days.

I promised to share the recipe then, and since I’m a man/dad/husband of my word, I’m sharing for all who care to see and try. Guys, forget the jewelry this Mother’s Day, these goat cheese crackers are the key to her heart and tastebuds!

Place dough between parchment paper or a silicone mat; it can be sticky. With a rolling pin, roll to 1/8-inch thickness.

Using a greased pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares or whatever size you like. Poke holes with a fork or toothpick in each one to help keep them from being to “puffy”. Slide parchment paper or mats onto baking sheets.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crackers turn a light brown and are crisp. Remove one to let cool and check to see if it’s crispy. If they are not crisp, bake a few minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days (they won’t last that long!).

This is how the sheets will look after cooking in the oven, but it’s easy to break into the squares you formed.

I used unflavored whey protein powder to give these crackers a protein-packed punch. If you don’t have or don’t want to use protein powder, just sub more coconut flour or a mixture of nutritional yeast and coconut flour.

Rolled oats can be used as well if you don’t have or like the other dry ingredients. They will mix just fine after being pulsed in the food processor. Whatever you do, give these a go and have fun in the “process”. Man I crack myself up.

These have a tendency of disappearing quickly, I highly recommend hiding a few for yourself or you’ll end up with zilch. I speak from experience…..

Like this:

The small playground in our neighborhood has a little wooden playset for kids to climb and slide on. Using our imagination, we pretend it’s our spaceship and make frequent trips to the moon and sometimes a random planet from Star Wars.

It’s not a sturdy structure, so I can easily shake our vessel during takeoff as we experience turbulence (from comet fields, obviously). Luckily, the cutest pilot I know keeps it under control and gets us through every time.

Don’t worry, I caught this shot on my phone before takeoff. She promised to wait for me to climb aboard, but only for a minute. We had places to go and things to see, so there’s no time for messing around with pictures!

I’m just happy I got this pic before the 105+ degree heat made my phone shut down. Probably for good reason, I need to focus on living in the moment more anyway. No matter how hot it gets, it always feels cool to play with our beautiful girl.

Thanks to Darren and his #MySundayPhoto linkup. Check out his blog full of beautiful pics and join in on the #MySundayPhoto action!

As with most things related to a growing tot, it’s bittersweet to see. I love seeing her accomplish new things, but that means she’s *gasp* getting older and *deeper gasp* more independent! Ahhhh, parenting is tough in so many ways.

But it’s also rewarding and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Especially when we can spend some family time together. Watching her climb the wall and smile as she reaches the top is nothing but satisfying. Then topping it off with a family selfie to end a wonderful day.

Even in the Texas heat, we’re doing our best to keep active outside. Sometimes it can’t happen, but that’s why we have our living room construction site/play area.

As always, big thanks to Darren and his never dull #MySundayPhoto linkup. Check out his blog full of beautiful pics and join in on the #MySundayPhoto action!